Coming Home
by 2three.abi
Summary: #6 Hotaru Imai was a genius, and if her assumptions were correct, she was to stay like this forever. Never getting old, never really moving on… and always leaving the ones she cared about.
1. Coming Home

Title: Coming Home

Summary: Because even an alice like her has to come back home, too.

Disclaimer: No. _Never._

For the first time on months, my fingers itched to type another story. Please pardon the shortness and the way this story was written.

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><p><em><strong>Life is a series of many goodbyes.<strong>_

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><p>It was never her decision to go away. Away from her friends, her brother, from everyone… including <em>him<em>.

Hotaru Imai sighed.

For sure, _he_ was thankful that she went away for this sole reason: because no one would sell his pictures to his fan girls for a long time.

She imagined him, partying his way to all his classes, without the fear of being 'stalked' or being ambushed by a mob of love struck fan girls.

_Nogi,_ she thought. _How long has it been already?_ _Ah, seven years._

Seven long years without communication to everyone, without any news about what happened to everyone during her absence.

She wondered, has that fire caster made a move on her best friend already? Has Iinchou become a successful film director just like what he really wanted? Had Anna, Nonoko, Koko and _Permy_ already found their happiness?

_Has he already…?_

Her name was known worldwide, and yet she was secluded from it. Her seclusion was a part of the contract she signed seven years ago before she went away, as to avoid any distractions according to her boss.

She sighed once again. At first, she loved the silence, the serenity and the peace it brought. But as weeks and months passed by, she found herself looking for a certain brunette, longing for her unending and loud wailings (after being hit by the Baka Gun) every morning, an angry blonde chasing her, a seaweed-haired girl, her geeky sisters, the mind-reader, the stoic fire caster, her… ugh, suitors, even their _gay _sensei.

_Did he stop twirling around the room almost every day? I wonder…_

In other words, yes. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she did miss everyone.

Minutes passed by, and the inventor looked at the door when it opened after a few knocks. It revealed a man, the wrinkles on his face symbolized every year that passed, and the wisdom he possessed. Yes, he was old and he was wise.

Of course. He was Hotaru Imai's boss after all.

A smile crept into the inventor's lips for the first time in years.

The contract ended almost a week ago which means… _another smile._ She couldn't help but smile at the old man, and to the news he just brought.

Why?

Because at last, Hotaru Imai was going home.

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><p>AN: The shortest I've ever made. Bleh.

_To You-Know-Who-You-Are,_

_You're still awesome-er than me. Nuff said :)_

Hint: Reviews keep me going.

;)


	2. Happiness

Title: Happiness

Summary: He hasn't found his happiness. The reason? He's waiting for a certain person to come back after all those years. –Ruka Nogi.

Disclaimer: No. _Never._

Sequel to **Coming Home**. Coming Home was set before they graduate in high school.

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><p><em><strong>Ever since happiness heard your name, it has been running through the streets trying to find you.<strong>_

_**- Hafiz of Persia**_

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><p>Hotaru Imai just finished packing all her things. She nodded to herself, with an evident satisfaction on her face, because she managed to pack all her things, including her <em>queen-sized bed,<em> in just a matter of seconds.

She put two capsules, which contained all her possessions, inside her pouch and went into her boss' office. She said her thanks to the old man, for all the things he had provided her these past few years.

The inventor treated him as a teacher, a friend and a father on the absence of her own. Although she didn't show it that much, she was really happy now that she was finally going home but at the same time… she was not. Because the old man would be alone again.

She then turned her back on him without even muttering a word of goodbye, when she saw tears in the corner of his eyes. She didn't want to see him crying because for sure, she would cry, too. She wouldn't want to ruin her reputation as the Ice Queen. And besides, she was not that kind of person who easily cries over something.

She took a step… then another. One more step and she realized that she wouldn't go back to this place again. She would _never_ see the old man again.

Sighing, she went outside the building and called a cab. She was on the way to the airport when a thought suddenly crossed her mind.

And for the first time, Hotaru Imai was nervous and worried.

_Have they forgotten about me already?_

She frowned and shook her head gently as she pushed the thought off her mind.

The ride to the airport was silent. She sat there, at the backseat, staring at the view outside the cab she was riding.

Her thoughts from the previous day came into her mind once again.

_**Has that fire caster made a move on her best friend already? **_

_Two years ago…_

A brunette lied on the hospital bed. She had a rough day yesterday, for she had given birth to a pair of healthy baby boys. Her husband, who loved her so dearly, was lying on the couch near her bed, with a manga on his hand.

When the brunette woke up, her husband was suddenly on her side, asking if she was fine.

She smiled at him and told him she was fine through her smile.

"Where's our baby?" she asked.

The raven-haired smirked. "Babies, you mean. _Ba-ka_," he said and kissed her forehead when she frowned.

_**Has Iinchou become a successful film director just like what he really wanted? Had Anna, Nonoko, Koko and **_**Permy **_**already found their happiness?**_

_Two months ago…_

*ViVi Magazine: Sought-after Bachelor, Engaged. Yuu Tobita, an award-winning film director and one of Japan's most sought-after bachelors, just proposed to her three-year girlfriend Anna Umenomiya. _(See the exclusive interview on page 18)_

_Five years ago…_

Nonoko Ogasawara was making her name known in the pharmaceutical industry.

_A year ago…_

Koko and _Permy _got married, with Sumire's little girl trotting down the aisle as the maid of honor. She had her child with her previous boyfriend, but despite that, Koko didn't even think twice to kneel in front of her and ask her hand in marriage.

_**Has he already…?**_

Her thoughts were suddenly cut off when the driver told her that they just arrived at the airport.

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><p>No. Ruka Nogi wasn't a bit happy.<p>

He was standing inside the airport for almost three hours that day, wondering how on earth his former teacher made him agree to pick someone up from that place.

_He must have used his alice on me, _he thought.

He then shivered at yesterday's memory. He could remember the _gay_ sensei grinning from ear to ear the day before, acting like he knew something that he didn't.

The blonde sighed. _I should be inside my clinic right now._

He looked around the airport and… wait a minute. He didn't even know who he was supposed to pick up today.

_Damn that Narumi, _he thought once again. But he still waited. And waited.

Another thirty minutes passed and the blonde was beyond pissed. He then decided to go back to his clinic and continue his work.

Ruka was about to turn his back and go to the parking lot when he spotted her – a familiar-looking woman with an unreadable expression written all over her face.

The woman was looking straight back at him, her _amethyst_ eyes piercing his soul.

He hadn't seen her for... seven years already, yet, the feelings he had for her were still there. The painful yet familiar throbbing of his heart against his chest, the way his mind couldn't function properly whenever _she _was around, the butterflies inside his stomach.

Ah. How he missed this feeling.

Seven years was such a long time. _She_ probably thought that he was happy when _she_ went away, but hell, he was more upset than Mikan was when he found out that _she_ had to leave.

He couldn't help but smile at her as the woman took another step closer to him. Because it was the first time for him to experience something like this.

His own happiness, walking towards him.

_Hotaru Imai._

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><p>AN: End. I made this while sitting in one of my classes. That's why it was full of… bleh.

*Vivi: one of the most widely circulated Japanese fashion magazines, published by the Kodansha Limited. Vivi includes articles about fashion, lifestyles, food, relationship, and more. (Yeah. I searched for this magazine.)

I will post one-shots here with the RxH pairing. So this will become a collection of one-shots. Agree, disagree?

Hint: Last chapter, last sentence.

;)


	3. Beyond Repair

Title: Beyond Repair

Summary: He promised not to hurt her, because he knew he couldn't stand it to see her crying. But all these time, was he just closing his eyes? –Hotaru Imai.

A/N: I was having a hard time thinking of a new title for this one-shot collection. But one person told me to let this stay as it is. _Yeah._ This one's for you.

_Yeah. I think Coming Home is fine. Like... coming home... to the HxR pairing._

That's what she said. :)

Note: This one-shot is not a sequel to Happiness. I will soon post it, _if_ I finish it… or _maybe_ not. I don't know. It depends on my mood.

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><p>Genre: HurtComfort, Drama

Warnings: OOC-ness, grammar errors, typos

Disclaimer: No. _Never._

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><p><em><strong>"It's amazing how someone can break your heart and you can still love them with all the little pieces."<strong>_

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><p>Ruka Nogi averted his gaze from her. She sat there on the couch, the life shining through her amethyst orbs was gone. And tears were falling endlessly from both her eyes.<p>

It was rare for even him to see her cry. The first time he saw her crying was… when they graduated from high school, second was when he proposed to her and after that… none.

He took a step closer to her. The blonde felt his knees _almost_ turned into jelly when she saw the picture she was holding.

Pictures, taken last week, of him and _Mikan,_ her _best friend_, together. Smiling, walking side by side… _ kissing._

The look on her face broke his heart when she finally turned her head to face him. She tried to wipe the tears from her reddening eyes, but failed in doing so… they just kept on falling.

He guessed that she must have been crying for a long time already… and it broke his heart a little more.

Ruka silently sat beside her, keeping his gaze on the carpeted floor. He cringed when he heard her sob.

Hotaru told him to look at her. She then looked at him straight into his eyes.

Her eyes… they mirrored how broken she was right now. She was known as the Ice Queen back when they were still in school, never backing down on any challenges, never showing her emotions. But now…

"_Why_, Ruka?" she finally asked, her voice cracked. "_How _could you do this to me?"

The blonde couldn't answer her. He searched for the right words to say, the _right reasons_ why he did that.

He then mentally scolded himself. _No, idiot. There will never be a right reason why you did that. Never._

Why did he do that? He shook his head. He himself didn't know why, too.

He had been seeing Mikan, cheering her up these past weeks because of his best friend's death. But little did he know that he was falling into an endless pit of sins… of guilt. His love for _her_ was clouded by the responsibility he himself took to make Mikan happy.

Every single moment that they touched, _kissed_, laughed and smiled together, he kept on forgetting that he already has _her_… that he had chosen to be with Hotaru, not with Mikan.

He heard a sob again, and this time, his hand automatically moved to wipe the tears on her cheeks.

"H-Hotaru, don't cry. You know I don't want to see you c-crying," he told her.

The inventor smiled bitterly. She then looked up and wiped the tears on her eyes once again.

"I remember the time you told me that you wouldn't even think of hurting me because you told me _that_. And I believed you," she said while laughing sarcastically. "You don't want to see me crying?" she asked him once again.

She then gently shook her head. "All these time, _were you just closing your eyes, Ruka?_"

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

Hotaru sighed. She felt her heart being squeezed, and she couldn't breathe. It was like _it_ was breaking _over and over _again.

She stood from the couch, ignoring Ruka's voice… he was calling her name.

Before entering their room, she turned to him and said, "I still love you, Ruka, but I really can't take this anymore…"

Ruka followed her and hugged her from the back. "Don't leave me. _Please, _Hotaru. Don't."

She gently unwound his arms around her and went to pick up her bags.

Hotaru left, leaving him alone. He knew that they still love each other, but because of him...

Hotaru Imai was broken…

…_beyond repair._

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><p>AN: Too much drama can kill you. Bleh. I would know. I'm dead already. HAHA.

Review?


	4. Finally

For **Marvic Sakura.** Happy birthday! This is all I can give you. I can't sing well, I can't draw or edit, so there. HAHA.

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><p>Title: Finally :)<p>

Summary: He has already found his happiness. All he has to do was to chase for _her_. –Ruka Nogi

Notes: This one-shot is the sequel to Happiness (Chapter 2). Yeah…

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><p>Genre: You-know -what.<p>

Warnings: OOC-ness, grammar errors, typos

Disclaimer: No. _Never._

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><p><em><strong>There are two things to aim at in life: first, to get what you want; and after that, to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second. ~Logan Pearsall Smith,<strong>__**Afterthoughts**__**, 1931**_

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><p>He couldn't believe it. She was now standing in front of him, and he noticed… Hotaru had grown taller these past few years. Her cheekbones were now more prominent, making her look more mature.<p>

_More beautiful._

He tried to stop himself from blushing, but failed in doing so. He was now red from the base of his neck up to the tip of his ears, as he looked straight into her eyes.

Oh, how he missed her.

"Hota-" He immediately stopped himself from calling her first name when he saw her raised eyebrow. He _knew_ he should have said… _Hotaru, I miss you _or something around those words, but the blonde just settled with these instead. "I-Imai. Long time no see."

The inventor felt kinda… disappointed when he stopped himself from saying her name. She looked at him as he turned beet red, blushing as he blinked his dazzling orbs every now and then.

They stood there, in the middle of the crowded airport, not minding the other people who seemed to be in a hurry.

Raising an eyebrow again, her eyes followed the movement of his hand as he unconsciously touched the back of his head.

"Aren't we leaving… _Nogi_?" she finally asked after a few minutes.

"Leaving?" Ruka's asked, snapping himself out from his dazed state. "Yeah, yeah. Leaving."

He curtly told her to follow him, after offering some help on carrying her purse. He blushed once again when Hotaru refused.

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><p>The car ride was quiet. They both didn't know the <em>right words<em> to say, or perhaps, the _right way _to say the_ right words_ either.

The blonde was itching to ask her if what happened to her these past few years, if she's just fine… if she already found someone…

_She just returned, Ruka,_ he told himself and gently shook his head afterwards.

Hotaru noticed this and secretly smirked. She might not be that idiot of a mind-reader, but she could tell that he wanted to tell her something or at least, ask some questions.

She waited… and waited. Apparently, she was still the Ice Queen he knew back then, with a little amount of patience she could have. That's why in an irritated voice, she asked him, "Do you want to tell me something, Nogi?"

The blonde coughed, surprise and nervousness were written on his face.

"Uh… h-how are you?" _Hotaru._

Hotaru sighed. "Fine," she answered and looked outside the window. _I missed you... Ruka._

Ruka concentrated on his driving. He felt like having a heart attack then and there. His heart was throbbing painfully against his chest, yet it felt _fine_… like it should act that way every time he's around her.

He then stopped the car in front of a restaurant. The inventor couldn't help but look at him, her eyes filled with questions.

"What are we going to do there?"

The blonde looked at her and smiled _his smile…_ sincere and captivating. He moved to step out from the car and quickly opened the door for her. Hotaru once again raised an eyebrow to him, when he suddenly offered his hand to her.

He smiled nervously in return. "Narumi-sensei invited everyone to gather here for your return. Mikan is here, too, you know. With Natsume and the kids."

Hotaru looked at him and… _With the kids? That Hyuuga. I must make sure they're married. Or he will have a taste of my baka gun._

Still offering his hand to her, Ruka looked at the inventor who was frowning. "They got married three years ago," he said, and the frown on her beautiful face suddenly vanished.

He enveloped her small hands on his larger ones, feeling the calluses on them and marveling on the way they feel against his hand. He felt her tugged, as if trying to get her hands from him. But he just continued on holding her hand like that, never wanting to let go of the feeling he was feeling right now.

Yes, she just returned… but he wouldn't wait for the time when she would have to leave again. Now that she returned… he promised himself that he wouldn't let her go. _Ever._

He held her hand tightly but gently, as they neared the door into the restaurant. Ruka then looked at her. He was surprised to find a faint tinge of red on both her cheeks…

"_Hotaru_," he said. The red on her cheeks deepened, and he decided to tell her, "I _really_ miss you. I'm glad you're finally back."

She squeezed his hand gently to let him know that she felt the same way.

Their hearts beated harmoniously, as they looked into each other's eyes.

She smiled and told him, "I miss you, too, _Ruka._"

Ah. _Finally._

Not exactly the _right words_ but… they would probably get there.

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><p>AN: I know, I know. *sulks in a corner* I didn't expect this ending either. TT_TT

Review?


	5. Change

Title: Change

Summary: Jinno coughed and suddenly pointed to a name scribbled all over his paper, over some of his answers.

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><p><em><strong>The key to change is to let go of fear. –Rosanne Cash<strong>_

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><p>He just finished answering all the questions on their quiz.<p>

He sighed as he stared off into space. His chin was resting on his palm, as he unconsciously doodled on the paper on top of his table.

Ruka Nogi was thinking about a certain inventor who just caused a commotion yesterday in Central Town. She sold pictures of him to his fangirls… yet again.

_When is she going to stop?_ he thought, as another sigh escape from his lips. Ever since she came into the academy, she had been causing him troubles, selling his pictures to almost anyone who wanted them.

His privacy was utterly invaded by her, and he couldn't peacefully take a bath knowing she could just be outside his bathroom door, waiting for the right time to take picture of him, errr… having the time of his life in the bath.

He sighed once again, as he continued on doodling.

He was angry at her, at Hotaru… well, not really. There was this kind of feeling when he thought about her just like now. His heart suddenly beat faster, and a blush painted his cheeks red.

He was kinda afraid of these feelings for some reasons. First, because these feelings were different from what he had felt for Mikan before. Second, he was not quite sure if Hotaru feels the same about him. And third, well, this was _Hotaru Imai_ we were talking about. The sole reason why he should be afraid of the feelings she was making him feel.

Ruka snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Jinno-sensei called his name.

"Nogi-san, I've been calling you for a couple of times now," Jinno said, his patience was hanging by a thread. This was the first time he saw the blonde student lose his focus on his class...

Blushing, Ruka replied, "Uh, sorry, sensei."

He then went back to his seat and stared off to space once again.

Jinno's eyebrow twitched as he looked at the paper his student just handed out to him. A blush because of annoyance was on his cheeks as Koko's laughter boomed inside the room.

Everyone looked at the mind-reader curiously.

"What's the matter, Koko?"

The mind-reader dried the tears on his eyes as he looked at the brunette who just asked him. He then shook his head and continued to laugh.

"Ruka Nogi," Jinno-sensei called his name once again and all the noises in the classroom just disappeared. The blonde looked at the froggy teacher and asked, "Yes, sir?"

The old man's eyebrows twitched once again, as he heard his question. He then walked to Ruka's seat and handed him the paper he just passed a while ago.

Ruka looked at the old man questioningly. _Why is he returning my paper? I'm quite sure I have answered all of the questions._

Jinno coughed and suddenly pointed to a name scribbled all over his paper, over some of his answers… the formulas he studied last night, and the equations he wrote.

Ruka blushed a thousand shades of red. Did he write _that_?

"Detention this afternoon, Nogi-san. For, uh… not paying attention to my class. You will answer a new test paper and submit it to me, understood?"

The teacher then walked away, gathered all his things and went out of the room as the bell rung.

Natsume took a glance at the paper Ruka was staring at. He noticed his red face and got curious. He then smirked when he read…

"_Hotaru Nogi_, huh?" he asked with a soft voice with a hint of amusement present in it.

"Na-Natsume!" Ruka said, as he got the paper in his right hand before completely crumpling it.

Then again, Koko's laughter was heard inside the room as Ruka thought, _Hotaru Nogi. Not bad. _

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><p>AN: This author will be on an indefinite hiatus.

So, review? :)


	6. Home

**Title:** Home

Disclaimed.

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><p><em><strong>When you feel you've lost all else, strength is what you find.<strong>_

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><p>She woke up, in the middle of who knows where, feeling dizzy. She didn't recognize the people around her, or the place she was currently at.<p>

She was alone.

_Subaru-nii-san?_, she thought, as she tried to stand up. She walked slowly, looking at people's faces, in an attempt to find her brother.

A few minutes had passed, but still she couldn't see him.

_Where could he be?,_ she thought once again.

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><p>She then fell unconscious.<p>

The inventor woke up hours later in a room, with an elderly woman seated beside the bed she was lying on.

"Who are you―where am I?"

The old woman smiled at her and gently brushed her raven locks on forehead. "Relax, child. You are safe here."

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><p>Fifteen years had passed and yet nothing had changed in her appearance. She still looked like a twelve year-old girl and her cold demeanor had gone still unchanged as the years had passed. She moved from town to town, not only because she was still looking for her brother and anyone who she actually knew, but also not to arouse some suspicions about her never changing appearance. She would live at one place for a maximum of two years, before moving on to another.<p>

She had met a lot of people who had helped her and treated her like their own family, but still she moved away.

Hotaru Imai was a genius, and if her assumptions were correct, she was to stay like this forever.

Never getting old, never really moving on… and always leaving the ones she cared about.

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><p>Seven years more had passed, and she had finally completed her latest, and probably more precious, invention. A time machine and a locator merged into one. She could finally find her brother, her friends…<p>

A small smile appeared on her lips, as she went inside the machine. After checking if everything was ready, she closed her eyes and thought of her old classmates, her teachers, her brother… her thoughts then wandered off and focused on a certain Animal Pheromone Alice user a few moments after.

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><p>The next thing she knew, she was standing in the middle of a very busy street somewhere in Tokyo. Her locator was minimized in a size of a pendant, which she had put on the necklace she was wearing.<p>

Good. Everything seemed to be going according to her plans. Now, she just had to find them.

She then spotted a blonde man a few meters away from her. His eyes were cerulean blue, like how she had remembered and his kind and gentle face was still the same, even though so many years had passed. The only problem was, could he still remember her…?

Hotaru was suddenly scared for the first time in her life since she last saw him. She then gathered all her courage and walked up to him.

She gently pulled his jacket to catch his attention.

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><p>"Yes?" he asked when he turned to look at the person who had approached him, only to find a child staring up at him. He knotted his forehead. "How odd," he then murmured.<p>

The child raised both of her eyebrows at him, as if asking him why.

Ruka then chuckled. "You look like someone I know."

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><p><em>He remembers,<em> the inventor thought, a small smile almost appeared on her face.

She then smirked at him instead, before muttering, "Ba~ka. Ruka, it's me."

Shock was written all over the blonde's face, and before he knew it, he was hugging the inventor in his arms, enclosing her body in a tight embrace.

He was crying.

"Hotaru, you don't know how long we've searched for you. I―I'm glad you're finally here."

This time, Hotaru Imai really smiled, as she returned his embrace. "Me, too. I'm glad to be home."

_Finally._

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> No, I haven't read GA's latest chapter yet, but I've heard enough about the ending. I hope this thing (the crappy stuff written above) happens if ever there will be a sequel (please please sequel please because ugh Hotaru) :(((

This drabble is still unedited.

P.S.: I didn't get that much into details because I'm lazy DD; lol.


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